The United Nations said a humanitarian mission has entered the Sudanese city of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state, for the first time since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control following a siege that stretched for more than a year and pushed the city into a deep humanitarian crisis.
At the same time, Chad’s army command on Saturday condemned an attack by the RSF on a border town inside Chadian territory that killed two Chadian soldiers and wounded a third, calling it an “unjustified aggression” against Chad’s sovereignty.
In late October, the RSF tightened its grip on El Fasher, the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region, following a siege that lasted more than 18 months and was marked by intense fighting, amid reports and evidence of mass killings, abductions and rape of civilians.
In this context, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that a UN assessment mission had arrived in El Fasher after prolonged humanitarian negotiations, describing the move as “a sign of a limited breakthrough” in efforts to deliver aid to the city, which had been under a suffocating blockade.
The office said the mission included a delegation from the World Food Program to assess urgent food needs, a team from the World Health Organization to evaluate damage to health facilities and their emergency requirements, as well as a team from UNICEF focused on assessing the situation of children and pressing humanitarian needs.
US welcome
The senior adviser to the US president for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, welcomed the arrival of the assessment mission in El Fasher, stating that it demonstrated the contribution of US diplomacy to “saving lives.”
In a post on X, Boulos stated that the critical access was achieved after months of negotiations through a track facilitated by the United States, with joint efforts alongside OCHA and humanitarian partners on the ground.
He called, as part of mediation efforts to end the war in Sudan, for the declaration of a comprehensive humanitarian truce, urging both sides to accept and implement it immediately without conditions, and to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian aid to all parts of Sudan.
He also urged the international community to increase funding to support OCHA’s response.
The arrival of the UN assessment mission in El Fasher marked the first humanitarian entry into the city since May 2024.
On the other hand, forces of the so-called “Founding Government,” allied with the RSF and controlling the Darfur region, stated in a press release on Saturday that they were fully prepared to secure and facilitate humanitarian work in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.
They said the visit by a delegation from OCHA and the UN Department of Safety and Security included displacement centers, UN premises and a number of vital facilities inside El Fasher.
According to the statement, the UN mission completed its visit to El Fasher and arrived safely in the town of Tawila, with no official comment from the Sudanese army on the mission’s entry.
The army had for long periods refused to allow humanitarian organizations and aid to enter through the Adre border crossing with Chad, worsening the humanitarian crisis inside the city, where residents have faced acute shortages of food, medicine and health services.
Asharq Al-Awsat had previously quoted the director of the World Food Program as saying the United Nations was forced to restrict relief operations through Chad toward Darfur.
Chadian warning
In a separate development, an RSF drone carried out an attack targeting the town of Tina on the Chadian border.
A senior Chadian army officer told Agence France Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the incident marked the first time the Chadian army had suffered direct human losses since the outbreak of the war in Sudan.
Chad’s general staff described the attack as “deliberate and intentional,” saying it constituted a clear violation of international law, and warned all parties to the Sudanese conflict against any infringement on Chadian territory.
In a statement, the Chadian army said it reserves the “right to respond by all lawful means” and to exercise the right of self-defense if any attack is repeated, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
The RSF controls most areas of northern and western Darfur, except for limited pockets held by neutral tribal groups. The forces said last Wednesday they had taken control of the towns of Abu Qumra and Umm Baro in North Darfur, areas located on the road leading to the Chadian border town of Tina.
